Friends Lost
by Stormfalcon
Summary: Logan is at home when he gets a call saying that Psylocke is coming home. He finds out that she has been killed and she isn't in her coffin when it arrives. Please R&R.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men or anything else 

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men or anything else.

A Fallen Friend

Logan was at the mansion doing nothing but watching TV with a beer in his hand. He was bored that was true but it was better to be bored than to be fighting, well maybe not. He loved to fight because it made him feel more alive than at any other time. Once in a while though he liked to have peace and though he was bored he was glad for the peace and quiet.

Wolverine wasn't happy about the call that he had received from Storm only a day before. The call had come just as Wolverine had walked back into the house after being outside hunting. He had been in some serious need of hunting and just to be out in the woods that he would always feel that were a part of him. 

Wolverine sat in his favorite chair and brooded then as the conversation came back to him. He knew that he wasn't bored anymore and he wished that he was still bored rather than think about what the call had been about. The phone had rang and he had picked it up still without his shirt on since it was covered in sweat.

"Yeah Xavier residence," he had said into the phone gruffly as he always did.

"Wolverine is that you," Logan heard a voice say which he immediately recognized as Storm.

"Yeah it's me 'Ro," Logan replied.

"Logan I have some bad news and I am so glad that you are there at the mansion so that I didn't have to leave it on the machine," Storm said in a rush.

"Whoa there 'Ro, what's up," Logan asked a bit concerned with her. He didn't know what the deal was since she had left with her own group in search of the notebooks. He wondered it they had found them.

"Where is everyone Logan I hope that they are there," Storm said with a note of sadness to her voice that Logan picked up on right away. He knew her too well not to recognize the sadness.

"No 'Ro they aren't here. They are all off on a vacation and I was elected to look after the school. They are supposed to be back within about two days though," Logan answered Storm honestly figuring it wouldn't do to lie to her and say that they were there.

"Oh Logan," Storm cried into the phone with true anguish in her voice.

"Just tell me Storm what happened," Logan said hoping to get her to tell him what the deal was. He really wanted to know because he was starting to wonder about her. 

"Logan we are sending a friend back home," Storm said sadly and he could tell that she was almost in tears. He didn't know why though and it puzzled him.

"Well good it will give me someone to talk to until the rest of you get back as well. The others will be back but until they get back I am bored," Logan said trying to lighten the mood.

"No Logan she isn't coming home like that," Storm began and he heard her crying on the other end of the phone. "She is coming home for the last time. Logan Psylocke is dead."

At those words Wolverine's heart nearly stopped beating. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Psylocke couldn't be dead. She was too good of a fighter for that to happen. She was a part of the X-Men and they didn't die. Storm had to be mistaken he thought. Psylocke was too beautiful and too full of life to be dead. He wouldn't believe it until he saw her body.

"Logan," Storm asked worried about him. She didn't know what he was thinking but she knew that he was in pain. There could be no other reason for his silence.

"I am here Storm. Just tell me when she is to arrive for her last time. I want to give her the welcome that she deserves," Logan said in a dead hollow voice. Storm had never heard that voice from him before and she knew that Psylocke's death had hurt him more than anyone would ever know. 

"She is to arrive tomarrow at noon," Storm said and as soon as the words were out of her mouth she heard a click. Logan had hung the phone up on her.

*****

Logan shook his head to clear it of the conversation and looked over at the clock on the mantelpiece. It read 11:45 so he stood up and went upstairs. Logan walked slowly and his paces held a dread as he went to his room and pulled out a good set of his cloths. 

He felt that he owed it to Psylocke to at least look decent when she arrived though he didn't know if she would even know that he had dressed up for her. He went back downstairs and he went to the door. As he opened the door he saw a black hearse drive up the driveway and park in front of the mansion. He knew who was in the hearse and yet to him it felt almost unreal.

Psylocke shouldn't be dead. If anyone in the X-Men should have been dead it should have been him. Logan closed his eyes for a moment and just remembered. He remembered the way she looked as she practiced, the way her body moved. He remembered the way she smiled and laughed. The way that she looked over her shoulder and the love that she had for everyone in the group. He remembered every little detail about her and he committed it to memory so that she would never be forgotten. Not for as long as he lived which seemed to be a very long time.

Logan walked out to the hearse as the men got out of the car wearing black suits. They walked up to Logan and the first man said, "We are sorry for your loss sir. WE have brought her home though."

"Yeah let's get her inside," Logan replied gruffly trying to keep his grief at bay. He wouldn't let it overcome him. He would succeed in this, he wouldn't shame her that way. Not in front of men he didn't even know.

"Yes if that is what you want," said the second man in sympathy which Logan didn't need at the moment.

"Just open the back ok," Logan nearly growled at the men.

They walked to the back of the hearse and opened the door. Inside Logan saw a coffin and inside that coffin he knew that his friend would be laying there. She would be as if she was sleeping and indeed she was. She was enduring the eternal sleep and Logan missed her already.

The men reached in and grabbed the railing and pulled the coffin out partway. Logan moved up and grabbed the other end of it and lifted it. _I don't' remember you being so light darlin' _Logan thought as they carried her inside. The two men put down their end on the pedestal that Logan had erected in the living room of the house. It was the only place he could put one up in time. He felt that she needed to have someplace familiar to rest while they waited for everyone to appear so that they could all give her their own farewells in their own way.

"Thank you," Logan said as he pulled up a chair and sat down next to the coffin.   
The men just bowed to Logan's back and let themselves out. He thought that was good because in the mood that he was in he could really use someone to vent his anger on. To vent his helplessness on. He looked around at the room. He saw the sofa where she had sat so many times before with the rest of the team around her or by herself. He saw the TV set where they watched shows and he saw the chair where she had sat in with Warren. He saw images that he knew he had never seen in his life and yet he saw them as vividly as if he was there in person. He saw her kissing Warren and doing other things that two people didn't need a show for. He almost felt the way that she felt at those times. The joy that she felt and the love. Now all that was taken away from her at such a young age and Logan knew that the world had lost a great hero. What's more though is that the world lost a great person. A woman who was beautiful on the inside and on the out. A woman who still had so much love to give and receive.

Logan didn't know what was happening but he saw Betsy as a child which he had never seen in his life and he saw other important events in her life that he knew he hadn't been there for. Logan decided that he would have to talk to the professor about it or Jean. After all the professor was starting to act different and Logan didn't like it.

"Well Betsy you're home now darlin'. I hope that means something to ya," Logan said as he placed his hand on the front half of the coffin. He put his head down and placed his forehead on the coffin. "I'll miss ya darlin'," Logan whispered.

While he head was close to the coffin he sniffed out of habit when he had a feeling that something wasn't right. He had that feeling now and he didn't smell anything. That wasn't unusual except that he should have smelled Betsy one way or another. He should have been able to pick up on the smell of death but he didn't. If not that then he should have been able to pick up on the smell of embalming liquid which he didn't smell either.

"What's up with this," Logan wondered to himself as he looked closely at the coffin.

What he saw made his blood start to boil. He saw that the top half of the coffin looked as if it had been opened. The seal was broken he could tell that much and the coffin wouldn't be air tight then. He looked even closer and examined the top half. The more he looked the more he saw. He saw that it looked like it had been forced open by perhaps a pry bar or something else but whoever had done it had been very good so as not to break the wood of the coffin.

Logan reached down and pulled on the top half of the coffin but it didn't open. It was as if someone opened it and then resealed it quickly so that no one would have known that it was opened. He was starting to get mad now and he popped a claw on one of his hands, _skint_.

"Sorry darlin' but I have to know," Logan said as he placed his claw on the seal and ran it along the length of the top half of the coffin. As he got to the end the top half lifted slightly and he retracted his claw as he pulled up on the lid. What he saw inside nearly made his heart stop. 

Inside the coffin there was no Betsy. There was nothing but a note sitting on the satin pillow where Betsy's beautiful head should have laid for eternity. Where her head should have been cradled gently. Where Logan wished he could have taken her place.

Logan growled more like an animal than any sound a human should have been able to make. He reached down slowly and picked up the note. He opened it and read it aloud to himself, "I can't let you bury such a good opponent. She fought honorable and as such she deserves a different honor. As that of a trophy to forever adorn my abode. She is the first and as I said before she won't be the last X-Men. Until the next one of you joins your teammate at my side as a trophy,

VARGAS"

"Vargas," Logan growled as he crumpled the note in his fist. "You think that one us will be next. I don't think so. I am going to hunt you down. You owe me a life and you owe me someone that I care for. Nothing on this world will keep you safe from me. That I can promise you Vargas."

Logan dropped the note back into the coffin and closed his eyes for a second. He didn't like to lose his temper so bad because that meant that the animal inside of him that he had fought so hard to overcome was clawing it's way back into the fore of his consciousness. 

Logan knew what he had to do and so he went back into his room. He shucked his cloths and pulled on his new black X-Men uniform. As he looked at himself in the mirror though he didn't think that it looked right. He went back over to his dresser and opened the bottom drawer and pulled out his old tan and brown uniform. "This is for you Betsy," He said as he tucked it into a dufflebag. He grabbed a few other things and then headed downstairs. 

He knew that he needed to leave a note for the other X-Men so that they wouldn't be worried. He quickly wrote, "I went to take care of some business in Spain. The city o Valencia. Went to see some old friends. 

Logan." 

Logan knew where he was going because Storm did her best to keep him informed just in case he was needed. It would have been nice had she called him so that Psylocke would still be alive. He sighed and shook his head. It wouldn't do any good to blame anyone but two people. He knew who those two people were. One was the man who called himself Vargas. The other was himself. Himself because he still felt that he should have been there. 

As he started to head out the door he felt a pull. He didn't know what it was but he just felt that he should go back and get his sword. The sword that he had used as Death. The sword that he had nearly killed the X-men with. Logan always went with his instincts though and so he went back and grabbed the sword off the mantel in his room and wrapped it in a silk cloth. 

"Well darlin' perhaps you are talking to me from beyond. Maybe you want me to kill him with a sword just like you would have," Logan said to the air around him.

He then went downstairs and into the hanger where they kept the other flying vehicles along with the cars and other such high tech things. Logan didn't care about most of them and so he didn't' look at most of them. He went straight to the older version of the Blackbird and hopped in. He set a course for Spain and one house in particular. He was heading for the house that belonged to Rogue, Destiny, and Mystique where he knew that his friends would be. He needed to talk to them first before he went on a killing spree that would forever change the lives of anyone who helped this Vargas.


	2. The Hunt for Clues

Hunt for Clues

Wolverine flew to the outskirts of Valencia Spain using one of the other planes at the mansion. He was of course qualified to fly them and so he figured that it would be put to good use for what he was doing. He felt that the X-Men owed it to Psylocke to do whatever was needed in order to bring justice to her killer. 

Wolverine closed his eyes and let the grief consume him. At least in the grief he remembered everything about her. He didn't ever want to forget her because he knew that she would never forget him or any of the others if they fell as well. He knew that he was just doing that so that he didn't have to deal with his feelings in another area but that was just fine. He knew what the deal was. He knew that there was only one way to find out where this Vargas was and that was to start hunting. He had his scent after all. It had been all over the coffin and the note.

He landed the plane about two miles outside the city behind a hill and in a stand of trees. He put on the cloaking device and where the plane had been there was now nothing but more trees and a few small shrubs. He smiled a bit then as he thought about all the knowledge that they had and yet they couldn't predict that Psylocke was going to die. What good was all that knowledge if you couldn't help those that meant so much to you. 

Psylocke had died for what she believed Logan knew but it didn't make it any easier on him. Especially when he knew that he was going to outlive all the X-Men. He knew that the wounds that she had sustained wouldn't have killed him and it made him feel guilty for not being there in order to do his job. And that was to protect his family. Logan didn't even care about those damn diaries of Destiny's. He didn't care what they contained because he felt that the knowledge would be useless. What would happen would happen and that was that. You couldn't change something if it was truly meant to happen. He hoped though that Psylocke had died for a good reason and those diaries did contain something that would be needed. He sincerely hoped so or 'Ro would have some answering to do.

Logan walked along a small road that was paved with stones until he reached the city. He had one agenda here in Spain and he wouldn't let anything interfere with that. He would get her back and he would kill Vargas. There was nothing that anyone could do to stop him. 

He felt calm and at peace for the first time in a long time as he stepped into the city. He knew that it was because he had a purpose which most of the time he didn't have. His life had just been a long road and now there was a place to stop and it gave him a little peace. It was built with stones and many houses had slate roofs. It was a city out of old times and Logan felt that he knew the place but couldn't put his finger on it. He had that feeling a lot though when he looked at things that were old and considered out of date. "Just like me," he said softly as his breath puffed in the brisk morning air. 

He laughed softly as he thought that maybe he should be dead. Perhaps then the X-Men wouldn't need to fight as often as they did. He knew that some of their battles were because of him. He also knew that some of the deaths that have been visited upon the X-Men were because of him. Psylocke almost died once long ago because of one of his enemies. Because of Sabretooth and because he hadn't been there that time either. 

Wolverine punched a Stone wall as he thought of that. The wall cracked under the blow because his bones wouldn't break. The adamantium made sure of that. "Once more I wasn't there and someone almost lost their life. No more though, no more. I will kill Vargas and then I shall hunt down everyone else who has ever brought grief to my family and the grief shall strike their family then," Wolverine growled as his vision started to cloud over with a red haze.

He knew the feeling and he didn't need to go berserk at the moment. He struggled with the animal inside and after a time calmed down. He needed his wits about him so that he could find this Vargas. All he knew of the man was that he was someone that had killed Psylocke and then taken her body. He had also learned from Storm that Beast had been injured severely in the battle.   
"Well Beast you seem to be my first lead so let's see if I can find you," Logan said to the air around him. He didn't expect an answer and didn't receive one. "Alone again just like old times eh Logan," he whispered to himself.

He started down the cobbled street and noticed that he was in a part of town that wasn't for the rich and genteel. The houses were old and the roofs were cracked and needing repair. There was trash littering the street on both sides and there were few cars and those were locked up like Fort Knox.

"Well every city has this neighborhood. For some reason though I always find it," Logan said as he walked on not worrying about thieves or gangs or any other such things. He was a mutant after all and at the moment he was hoping someone would pick a fight with him.

He sniffed the air and almost choked a the smell. There was too much garbage for someone with a nose like his. He figured that he was in a part of the city where the cops didn't care to visit too often. He also guessed that this was also just a very small part of the city perhaps just a few blocks. He had heard that this was a good city and that people loved it. Of course New York had it's sections like this as well and it too was considered a great city by certain standards.

He continued to walk and looked about himself. He saw that there were few people out on the streets and what few there were talked and huddled in groups. The houses had few lights on and he wondered if that was because they couldn't afford electricity or not. 

As he walked by a group of young men he heard one of them make a comment and then he heard and shortly felt a bottle hit him in the back of the head. He reached up and felt the back of his head where the bottle had hit him. His hand came away bloody and he wiped his hand on his blue jeans. 

He turned around to the laughter of the men but when his gaze fell on them they all stopped laughing. "Now I was hoping to walk through here without any trouble but it seems that trouble found me," Logan said to them as he pulled his cowboy hat down on his head.

"Get out of our neighborhood. We don't like the look of you and we don't like your kind," one of the boys yelled at him in halting English, which caused many a shutter to be opened. Everyone wanted to see what the commotion was about. They didn't get much excitement down where they lived. 

Logan knew that he should let it lie but it just wasn't in him. Especially not after the last day or so that he had been having. One thing you didn't do is make a Wolverine mad after it had lost a friend.

"What do you mean by my kind bub," Wolverine said as he pulled his hat off and tossed it aside. 

"You Americans for one. You always come here and cause trouble," the man said angry.

"Oh," Logan said as he raised an eyebrow. "I thought that you talking about the fact that I am a mutant. You know one of those scary things that you use to scare your children with," Logan growled out the last. He knew that he was slowly losing it but at the moment he no longer cared. He had lost a friend and now he was being told to leave the one place where he could get retribution. "By the way I am canadian," Logan said.

"We don't care," one of the men said a bit nervously now that they knew what Wolverine was. 

Wolverine started forward and the men scattered. He chuckled to himself. It never failed. They were probably going to get a bunch of their friends and come back and kill the mutie scum. At least that is what most groups did. Logan figured it wouldn't be any different here.

He turned around and walked away. He needed to find Beast and he needed to talk to him. If he was going to fight this Vargas it always helped to know about your opponent. 

*****

Wolverine climbed the outside wall of the building so that he wouldn't be seen by anyone. He had changed his cloths and was now in his newest black leather uniform. He figured that he would be harder to see that way while he was climbing the building. He could have went through the front doors but he wanted no one to know that he was here in town. He didn't want the word to get out to Vargas that he was being hunted. At least not yet. 

Wolverine used his claws to climb the brick wall. He loved his claws for that reason. He could climb any building that way. He also always had a weapon at hand which made him more dangerous than most mutants or people would expect. He was handing from the wall looking through one of the windows in the building when he noticed a dark bestial shape in a bed. 

Logan smiled to himself. There was only one person who looked like a beast and that was Hank. Logan opened the window slowly so as not to make any noise and then he pulled himself into the room silently. He didn't want to rouse Beast quite yet. Logan closed the window behind him and he walked forward as quiet as his namesake stalking its prey. 

Wolverine pulled up a chair and sat down next to Hank's right side. Wolverine noticed that he was breathing heavy and that he was hooked up to a machine. Wolverine had never seen him that way and it made him realize just how fragile even Beast was. "Everyone dies Hank. I was told that once and yet I find myself alive again and again no matter what is done to me," Logan said as he placed his hand on Hanks.

Hank's eyes fluttered open and he looked around the room almost in a panic. Then his eyes landed on Wolverine and he relaxed. "Yes Beast it's me. I am here to see how my old friend is doing," Logan said holding back the sadness that threatened to creep into his voice.

"I am doing better Logan. But how is Betsy. Storm and Rogue have been in to see but they haven't told me about her. They haven't told me if she made it home," Beast said in a voice so weak that Logan even had a hard time hearing him. 

"She made it home old friend she made it home," Logan said. He couldn't bring himself to tell Hank that her body had been stolen. 

"So . . . Logan. What has really brought you here. I . . . I have always been able to tell when you were lying to me," Hank said as he cracked a small bestial smile. 

Wolverine couldn't held but smile back. "I am here for one reason Beast. I am here to kill Vargas. I won't allow my friends to be hurt or killed anymore. I am a hunter now Beast and Vargas is my prey," Wolverine said as his smile vanished.

Beast knew that he was speaking true. Beast though didn't know what he could do to change Wolverine's mind. No one had ever been able to do that but Kitty and Jubilee. Even they had a hard time of doing it though. "My friend don't. Psylocke wouldn't want that and you know it. Vengeance wasn't her way," Beast whispered.

"It wasn't her way but it is my way. Death is on it's way and there is nothing that Vargas can do to stop it," Logan said coldly.

Beast saw Logan's eyes flash to a deep black color and then change back. Even the whites of his eyes had changed and that made Beast nervous. He wondered if that statement about death held a deeper meaning.

"Logan Vargas is amazing. He took a punch from Rogue and it didn't even harm him. He was faster than Psylocke and he had reflexes that were truly astonishing. He could have killed Rogue I think," Beast said trying to get Wolverine to change his mind.

"That's alright Hank. I don't die so easily if you remember. It seems that I am cursed with a type of immortality," Wolverine said sadly as he patted Beast's blue furry hand.

"That is not true Logan. You are not cursed and you know it. We have been given gifts and we must use them the way we were taught not the way that you think they should be used," Beast sad as his breath caught in his throat. 

Wolverine stood up fast and leaned over Beast. "Hank are you alright. Don't you die on me too. I couldn't stand to lose one of my best friends in addition to Betsy," Wolverine nearly growled.

"I will be fine my friend. Go and talk to Storm and the rest of them though. Let them know that you are in town. Let them know what happened if they don't already. Please just talk to them Wolverine. I know that you would rather deal with this yourself but it is best that you don't. I think that you need your family right now," Beast said but his last words were too late for Logan had already turned and walked back to the window.

"Beast if you see Storm tell her that a true beast has been loosened upon the city of Valencia. Tell her that he will not stop until he has found the killer," Wolverine replied with his head down. He then opened the window and jumped out.

"Logan don't do anything that you will regret," Beast said as tears glistened in the light of the rising sun. The sun lit the room up with wonder but Beast thought that it symbolized something else. He thought that the light was in a way Wolverine. Wolverine had showed up like the sun does but he always disappeared again just like the sun at night. And it was at those times when Logan was gone that the darkness of his animal side seemed to take hold. It was like night when the beast in humans came out and many murders were commited.

*****

Storm and the rest of the team including Sage, Rogue, Neal, and Bishop were on their way up the stairs of the building that Logan had just come out of. Sage stopped and seemed to be listening to something or some other such thing. The rest of the X-men didn't know all that much about her powers but they knew the look.   
"What is wrong Sage," Storm asked.

"I don't know. I just felt like there was a cold presence or someone that I know was just upstairs. I have that feeling now and again," Sage said as she shook her head.

"Well let's hurry on up sugah and see how old Beast is doing shall we," Rogue said in her southern drawl as she started to sprint up the stairs.

The others followed behind but at a much slower pace. Rogue was waiting for them at the entrance to Beast's room. "Well go on in," Bishop said and Neal nodded his head in agreement. He wanted to see how Beast was doing since he hadn't seen him in a couple of days.

They opened the door and the first thing that they noticed was that the window was open when it shouldn't be. Rogue walked over to the window and shut it but she saw a man running along the ground with a black uniform and hair that looked awful familiar, "Logan," she whispered to herself perplexed. What would he be doing here?

"Beast what is wrong," Storm said as she sat down in the chair next Beast's bed. The chair was still warm as if someone had already been sitting in it before they had arrived.

"It is nothing Storm," Beast said as the tears disappeared into the fur of his face. 

"Tell me Beast. Something is wrong and we are your friends. You can tell us anything that has upset you," Storm said compassionately.

Beast took as deep a breath as he could and he whispered in a voice filled with regret, "It is just this Storm. A mutual friend of ours was just here and he gave me some disturbing news."

"Who would tell you anything that would disturb you in the state that you are in. he couldn't have been a true friend," Neal yelled furious that someone would do that.

"Neal I couldn't ask for a truer or better friend. He has been with me through everything and has always been there for everyone else if they needed him or not," Beast said as the tears stopped flowing.

"Who was it Beast," Bishop asked in his normal tone of voice.

"Wolverine was just here," Beast said.

"What! Wolverine was just here. But he was supposed to be back at the mansion burying Betsy," Storm said shocked and voicing what everyone else was thinking.

"That may be true but he was just here. You only just missed him," Beast said sadly.

"What did he tell you Beast," Storm asked.

"He said that Betsy had never made it home. He said that her body had been stolen by Vargas," Beast sad and fresh tears glistened in his eyes.

"No that bastard," Neal screamed as he summoned his power without thought.

"Neal get yourself under control," Storm admonished strictly and severely. "We had suspected that but we had no proof. All we had was a rose, which didn't mean that much. Now we have proof Neal that is all," Storm said as calmly as she could but the news had affected her as well. 

She could tell that the others were all similarly affected but that they were doing their best to hide it from each other. Psylocke had been like family to all of them. Like a sister to some and more to others Storm thought, as she looked at Neal the newest member to their little family.

"Did Logan say anything else," Storm wanted to know even though she wasn't sure that she would like the answer. If she knew Logan then she guessed why he was here and that didn't bode well for anyone in the city if they had met Vargas.

"He also said that a real beast had been loosed upon this city and that nothing would stop him from getting his prey," Beast choked out. He wasn't used to talking so much. Of course though he liked it because it made him feel better just to see his friends. 

"What does that mean," Neal asked confused. He didn't really know Wolverine and he didn't know what that meant.

"What it means sugah is that our Logan is here on business. He is here for vengeance plain and simple. Logan is here to kill vargas and if that means reverting to his animal self then that is what he'll do," Rogue answered for them all. She had seen it once or twice and it was a frightening thing to watch. Not many people could say that they had been a witness to one of his Beserker rages but Storm and herself could. They had even drawn him back from the brink with the help of Psylocke once or twice.

"If that is the case," Storm said, "then we have to find him. We can't let him do what he is going to do. My friends it seems that we have a job to do. Everyone spread out and start to look for Logan. Don't let him harm anyone." Storm then stood up and they all walked from the room, all except for Sage and Rogue who stopped to look back at Beast.

Beast looked at them and he motioned for them to come back. They walked back over to him and he whispered to them, "Be careful. Logan has only been like this rarely. No one knows how much Psylocke meant to Logan but she meant a lot. Also Logan feels hurt about something and I wouldn't let Storm find him first. That comment about the animal was meant for her because he addressed it to her. I think that he blames her," Beast said and he leaned forward to get his point across.

"All right Beast we understand. Now you must rest. Rogue and I shall find him first you can count on that. I would like to talk to him anyway," Sage said and then they walked out the door, leaving Beast to his pain and his thoughts.

"So it seems that Wolverine is here to kill one man and now his family is out to stop him. He will take that wrong but I trust him. If it is anyone but Neal they will be fine. If it is Neal we may have another dead friend shortly," Beast whispered to himself.

****

Logan sat on a nearby building and watched as Beast talked to the X-Men. Logan found himself not liking the Neal guy and Wolverine and Bishop had never truly gotten along that well. Sage he did not know all that well either so that left Storm and Rogue from the team. He knew that he would let only one of those two find him when they started to look for him. 

He leaped off the building and twisted around in midair. He extended his claws and stuck them into the building in order to slow his descent to the ground. He had a job to do and it was past time that he started to do it. 

Valencia had a animal loose on it's streets but it was no ordinary animal. It was a animal who could think and could fight like no other. It was also a animal that could loose itself to a base instinct and let loose a part of itself seldom seen by people. That animal had a purpose now and was straining to be released.   
Wolverine had to fight himself daily but even more so now. He so wanted to just let loose and hack and slash anything that got in his way but he knew that he couldn't allow that. He needed his sanity and he needed the animal contained so that he could harness the fighting instincts that it possessed. The creature loose on the streets of the Spanish town was none other than a Wolverine. And a Wolverine who had lost a member of its family in a violent way which only made the Wolverine itself more violent. It stalked the streets as it left the building when it hit the ground and right away it picked up a scent of a man who seemed to have a little stench on him of Vargas.


	3. Promise

Promise

Wolverine followed the scent. He had a single purpose and that was to find the man that the scent belonged to. He had Vargas's stench all over him and that meant that he had met Vargas. That also meant that he would know where to find Vargas. That was something that Wolverine wanted to know quite badly.

He tracked the man all over town and not once did he let himself waver from his task except when he saw Storm fly over and then he pulled himself back into the shadows of a nearby alleyway so that she couldn't see him. He wasn't quite ready to face her yet. He needed to think about some things before talking to her.

As Logan trailed the man he felt the animal in him start to rise. Instead of fighting to control the animal and keep it down though he let it come and he fed off the anger that it brought him. He didn't care at the moment what happened as long as he got the information that he wanted.

"I will avenge you my friend," Logan said to the night as he followed the scent. "I will soon have the info that I need and from there it is a simple matter of killing Vargas," Logan growled the name out.

Logan missed Psylocke already because she had always had a cool head and that was usually what prevailed in a fight. Of course there was a problem with that though. Psylocke was dead now and there was nothing that her cool head helped her with when it came to knocking at death's door.

"One day I will hope that you come calling for me darlin'," Logan whispered to the night hoping that maybe Psylocke and Illyana were listening. He hoped that they would come and get him shortly. He was fast losing his desire to live. He had lost too many friends and see too much death in his life. He was no longer the best and he knew it. It was something that came hard but the older he got the more he learned about himself.

"I may be old and I may not be the best but that is because other's accpet things to enhance themselves. Nothing though will keep Vargas safe, this I promise to you Psylocke. I promise his death and vengeance for you," Wolverine said as a man appeared in his vision. Logan fought the animal inside him as he remembered that Psylocke wouldn't have wanted him to succomb to the animal within. She had always wanted him to be just Logan. That was one of the reasons that she had been such a good friend. She had accepted him for what he was including his faults which some of the X-Men could never get past.

*****

Jubilee needed time away from Gen X because they were just too, she didn't know what they were. What she did know though was that they weren't the X-Men. They weren't her first family and none of them could replace Wolvie. He was one of kind in her opinion. Sure he was gruff but hey that just hid the soft side of him which he rarely let anyone see. Jubilee though had seen it many a time and she wished that some of the other X-Men could have seen it as well.

She was taking her vacation as she put it and she wanted to see her old teammates as well as her best friend in the world possibly. That would be Wolvie, she missed him the most of all. 

She walked into the mansion without knocking because she didn't need to. It was her second home now when at one time it had been her first. She missed the place with the big furry Beast always reading or in his lab. Jean and Scott usually together and the others doing their thing. 

She tossed down her bag inside the door which contained her uniform and started through the house. She was hoping to find someone in the family room but she didn't find anyone there. All she found was a coffin which had her puzzled. She didn't know what a coffin would be doing in the house. Why would it be here in this room of all places as well.

"Because Jubilee it was supposed to hold the body of one of our fallen friends," she heard the professor say from behind her.

Jubilee turned around slowly and looked at her friends. Standing there was Scott and Jean along with the White Queen Emma Frost. The professor was in his wheelchair next to them. "Who was it that fell," she asked sad for whoever had fallen.

"Psylocke fell Jubilee. She died fighting someone named Vargas," Jean said as tears glistened in her eyes. Scott put his arm around her in an effort to comfort her. 

"Where's Wolvie," she asked now a bit nervous.

"He is gone. I scanned the world and have found him in the city of Valencia Spain. We know why he went there and truthfully I can't blame him," The professor said.

"He went there to kill this Vargas didn't he," Jubilee stated.

"Yes. The problem is that he isn't fighting the animal inside him anymore. He is letting it consume him without even realizing it. Jubilee we need you to go to him. Out of all of us you are the one that is most qualified to help him. We need you to make him stay Wolverine. We need you to help him stay human, and perhaps talk him out of his course of action. He is going to do anything in order to get Vargas," Jean said as she hugged Scott.

"I'll go and I promise that I will bring Wolvie back the way that he should be. I won't let him ruin his life because he wouldn't let me," Jubilee said and started for the door. Before she got there though she turned around and asked sheepishly, "How am I supposed to get there?"

"Take a commercial airliner Jubilee. It will not attract attention and that way you won't have to worry about hiding a plane. It will be easier for you and also easier to explain to authorites if they stop you why you are there. You can always tell them that you are there on vacation," Scott said all business like usual Jubilee thought. He was never any fun. 

"Ok I get it. Easier for everyone all the way around. Well I guess I am already packed so who gets to give me a ride to the airport," Jubilee said more happy than she felt.

"I shall take you there," Jean said as she unhinged herself from Cyclops.

"Let's go then," Jubilee said briskly as she turned and gathered up her bags which were by the door. As she did she though to herself. I won't let you lose Wolvie. You mean too much to me and I won't lose the only family that I have. I need you and you need me it is just the way it has always been. That is why I am on my way to help you my friend.

*****

"Where could he be," Rogue demanded angry at Wolverine for making her come out and look for him when she had better things to be doing.

"I do not know Rogue. All that I know is that we should find him first. I don't know what Destiny saw about him but I am sure that even he was in her books. We must find him," Sage said in a measured tone of voice.

"Well we had better find him soon or a'hm gonna hit him real hard when we do find him," Rogue growled which made her wince. That was the tone of voice Logan used when he got angry. She hated when that happened but at the moment it fit her mood. She really was going to hit him she thought when she found him.

*****

Logan watched the man from the shadows of a building. Logan was crouched down like a panther waiting it's prey which is what he was doing. He watched the man walk across the street and talk to some friends of his. Logan didn't care about them though they all looked like pieces of trash.

The man he was trailing he finally got to see as the man turned and looked over to Logan's hiding place. The man couldn't see Logan but nontheless Wolverine felt his hackles rise at the sight of the man. A low growl started in the back of his throat. The man was tall standing over six foot. He had black eyes and long greasy black hair that was tied back in a ponytail which given the chance Logan would gladly tear our for him. The man looked like a rat to Logan. He had the same smell as a lot of men that Logan wished he would have killed when he met them so that some innocent people wouldn't have gotten hurt.

Logan looked around and noticed that the men were standing outside of a bar. The bars over here or at least this one stayed open all night and served anyone from the look of some of the people that he had seen go in over the last few minutes. He had seen girls no older than fifteen go into that bar and it made him angry but he couldn't tell why. He guessed that it was due to the smell of the place. It just had that kind of smell that usually meant trouble.

Logan knew that he shouldn't attack the men out in the open like he was about to but he just didn't care any longer. He was tired of his friends dying and he was tired of men like these getting off because he was a good guy. Just as he was about to stand up and walk over there he saw the door to the bar open. Four women came out or to put it more accurately four girl came out.

None of them could have been over seventeen which put them at about Jubilee's age and he only let her drink occasionally when he supervised her. He would never have let her go to a bar by herself like that.   
Logan didn't like the way the man he was trailing and his friends looked at the girls as they stumbled down the street. Wolverine watched which was something that he was good at. The men said something to a couple of the girls who slid over into the arms of the men. That left just one girl by herself. As he watched he guessed that the men and the girls were couples all except for the one. 

Logan didn't think that Vargas would associate with people like these. Vargas had left that note which in it's own way was honorable and he seemed to value his own disgusting sense of honor. That would make it nearly impossible to associate with men like these.

"Well Vargas he still has your stench on him so he is going to talk," Logan whispered no louder than the wind which was noexistant. 

The girl started down the street stumbling all the while. Wolverine watched her go and was once again ready to stand up when the man he was trailing and his friends, all six of them, started to trail the girl. There were three men besides his prey and three women besides the one that was their prey.

"Damn girl. You shouldn't have come to this place. It would have been better if you had different friends," Logan said as he started to follow. The shadow to those men and they didn't even see it detach itself from across the street and follow them.

*****

Logan followed the group which in turn followed the girl until she started to run from them which was the wrong thing to do. Logan knew about animals which is about all these men were. Once the prey started to run then the chase was just getting started and the fun was beginning.

The men chased the drunk girl all over and no one even paid any mind to it. If it didn't involve them in this part of town then it wasn't worthwhile to get involved. The girl ran on and did something stupid. She ran into a alley. For Logan though nothing better could have happened. 

The men chased the girl to the back of the alley which ended in a brick wall. There was trash strung along the sides of the alley and the girl was panting heavy from her running. She turned and looked at the four men who approached her. The girls who had been her drinking companions stood at the mouth of the alley and watched for anyone who looked suspicious. 

"Don't hurt me please," She said quite clearly. The adrenaline had been pumping through her body and had burned away some of the drunkenness. She could at least talk now. 

"We aren't going to hurt you girl. We just want you to give us some fun," Greasy hair said.

"Please don't. I haven't done anything," she whimpered in terror. She should have listened to her mother and not went to that bar.

"Too bad girl we are going to enjoy ourselves," the man said as he started forward with his friends close behind.

"NOOOO," the girl screamed as they tore at her blouse. She had never thought that she would be raped and it was almost unreal.

*****

"NOOOO," Logan heard the girl scream as he stepped out onto the street and ran across to where the three women were standing blocking the alley.

"Out of the way girls or someone is going to get hurt," Logan growled.

"That's right old man. If you come any closer you will be the one to get hurt," one of the girls said as she pulled a gun and held it on him.

"Oh come on Jess, let me shoot him. I haven't killed me an American yet," one of the women purred.

"I am getting tired of being called an American. Nothing against them but I am Canadian not American. In truth I may be considered American since I have lived there so long but that doesn't matter. Now get out of the way," Logan said as he started forward.

The girl held the gun at Logan's chest and she fired. The bullet tore into his chest and out his back but the wound healed right before their eyes. "W. . . What are you," the girl stammered as she dropped the gun in her stunned state.

"I am a mutant and you had best leave before I do something that I will regret," Logan growled and the girls fled without a second's hesitation.

Logan ran into the alley _Skint! _He popped his claws as he ran. The men didn't have time to react before he was on them. They were too engrossed in tearing the girls cloths off. The first man fell with Wolverine's claws in his back. The second turned just in time to get his throat slashed. The man's blood covered Wolverine who didn't even notice it.

The third man fell back away from the demon before him crying. Logan smelled the fear and the urine on the man and he stalked forward. "No please don't hurt me," the man stammered in utter terror.

"Isn't that what the girl said," Logan growled as he drove his claws into the man's chest killing him. 

Logan turned and looked at the man he had stabbed in the back. He knew that the man would live if he let him but Logan wasn't feeling very generous today. He walked up to him and looked him in the eye. "You die for trying to rape the girl," Logan growled as he slashed the defenseless man across the throat with his claws.

That left only one man. Logan turned just in time to take a knife in the chest. 

Logan pushed the man back and pinned him against the brick wall. "Well now my little piss ant I have a question for you."

The man was quivering in fear of Logan and he had wet himself as well. He was willing to tell this man who was a demon anything that he asked. "What do y . . . you want to know," he stammered out.

"I want you to tell me where Vargas is. His stench is all over you. You see normally I don't kill people but I don't have time to wait for the police. That is why your friends are dead. They tried to rape a girl and so I did to them what should have been done to them for all of their crimes. You have a chance to live if you tell me where Vargas is," Logan said quite conversationally.

"I . . . I don't know wh . . . what you are talking about. I don't know any Vargas. I just do this once in awhile when we see a girl we think is hot," the man nearly cried as the tears started to flow down his cheeks. He was terrified that he was about to die and he couldn't tell this man what he wanted to know.

"That is the wrong answer bub. I know that you have at least met Vargas. He killed a friend of mine and now it's his turn. My friend didn't deserve to die but Vargas does. Do the world a favor and tell me where he is," Logan said as he moved his hand up to the kids chin with his fingers pointed towards himself. Logan had done this many times after he had retracted his claws.

"I don't know," the kid yelled. "Now let me go will you please," he cried.

"No you haven't answered me yet. I will give you until the count of three. At each number one of my claws comes out. First one will come out on one side of your head. Next another one will come out on the opposite side of your head. Third and final I think that you can guess where that claw will come out at," Logan growled.

"I don't know anything," he yelled again.

"One," Wolverine said slowly as his first claw slid out _Skint!_

"I'm telling you I know nothing," he said now fully terrified.

"Two," Logan counted as his other claw came out.

"You are one of the X-Men aren't you. The X on your uniform gives you away. I have heard all about you guys. You are supposed to be heroes. Heroes and good guys don't kill," the man cried trying to convice Logan not to kill him.

"You are right I am a X-Man. The thing is though I am not today. I have lost my faith." Logan took a breath and said simply, "Three."

*****

"Rogue look down there I think that I see him," Sage said as she pointed.

Rogue looked where she was pointing and saw that indeed Logan was down there and in a fight as usual. He had one man dead and then a second. She watched as she descended as Logan walked up to a helpless man and cut his throat without showing any remorse.

"Ah Logan what have you done. We never do that. We never kill unless it is necessary. Ah can't believe that you would do that," Rogue nearly yelled in fury at Logan.

She watched as he shoved a man up against a wall and start to talk to him. They landed at that time at the alley entrance across the street from where Logan was. She noticed that Logan was using his old questioning technique which didn't make her nervous. She had seen him use it many times and he had never hurt anyone and she knew that he wouldn't hurt the man know.

She watched and heard Logan say, "Three."


	4. Animal Instincts

Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men

Changed

As Logan said, "Three," he popped his third claw though not without a little hesitation. He had never killed a man in this way. He had never thought that he would have to. At the moment though he figured that the man deserved death because he would just be let off by the authorities. That and Logan didn't want to let anyone live who was a friend of Vargas. The kid had his stench on him so that meant that he at least had met Vargas and since he was a criminal he had earned himself Logan's wrath.

His claw went up through the man's head and came out the top. The man's blood gushed down and coated Logan in the crimson spray. The only thing holding the man upright after that was Logan. He retracted his claws and the man's body fell to the ground in a head along with his friends. "That is where gutter trash belongs," Logan said to the body.

*****

Rogue and Sage watched in horror as Logan popped his third claw. Never had Wolverine done that no matter the person. Rogue was scared deep down that they had lost Wolverine in that instant. She feared that perhaps the animal had indeed claimed him finally.

They ran into the alley and heard him say, "That is where gutter trash belongs." At that instant Rogue knew that he was still the Logan that she knew only that he was in a great deal of remorse. She just had no idea how grief stricken that he was.

Rogue yelled at Logan when she was only fifteen feet away, "Logan what do ya think ya are doing." 

Logan looked up at her slowly and she thought that she saw a tear but she wasn't sure. Then he spoke to her in a voice that sent a shiver down even her spine. "I am taking care of business. Since none of you are able to avenge our fallen friend then that task falls to me. I am the only one it seems that is equipped to deal with it.:"

"What do ya mean," she asked curiously. She wanted to know how he thought that when he knew that they all missed Psylocke. Some more than others like Neal but they all missed her.

"I mean that I am the only one willing to kill the man that killed her. I am tired Rogue of letting these people go who kill my friends. I have had it. No one else wants to avenge them then that is fine. I shall be their avenging angel then. I am the best at that and there is nothing to do about it darlin'. Rogue, I owe Vargas a blood debt and there is nothing that will protect him. Not even you and the rest of the X-Men," Logan said almost sadly. He believed everything that he had said. After all there was a reason that he had been chosen as the Horseman of Death.

"Ah sugah you don't need to do that. We all care about you. Some of us more than others. Logan we don't want to see you get hurt. We don't want to see you become something that you have fought so long not to become," Rogue said trying to reason with him. Deep down though she knew that she couldn't. He was and had always been unreasonable.

Sage stepped forward and placed a hand on Logan's shoulder. "You didn't need to kill them. They were just young men," she said though she knew that it was best that they were dead. She had seen how they had chased the girl and she knew what they would have done to her had Logan not been there.

"They had to be killed. I had to do it for all the girls that these pieces of trash had done this to before. I had to get payback for them," Logan said.

"Sugah ya are startin to sound like Ghost Rider," Rogue said. She had met the spirit of vengeance once and she didn't wish to repeat that meeting.

"So what Rogue. He isn't around and we owe it to Psylocke. Now if you will leave me be I a man to hunt," Logan said as he started to walk by Rogue. 

She reached out and put her hand on his shoulder to stop him. He stopped and looked her in the eye through her ruby lens glasses. "What now Rogue," Logan demanded.

"Will you at least return with me to see the rest of the team. Storm in particular I think would like to see you. She would also like to talk to you," Rogue said knowing it to be true.

"I don't have anything to say to her. It was her job to make sure you were all alive. It was her job to keep you safe," Wolverine barked at Rogue who released her hold on him at his words.

"Do you truly feel that what happened to Psylocke is Storm's fault. If you do then I am sorry Logan. I am sorry for you," Sage said sadly.

"As a matter of fact I don't know what to believe. I have seen to much and been the one to survive when better people had died. All I know is that Storm was the senior member of the group. She should never have let Psylocke fight Vargas on her own," Logan said sadly.

"That could be true yes but you also know that Psylocke was honorable and she had decided to fight him that way so that Beast wouldn't be killed. She deserves to be remembered with fond thoughts and not to have that sullied by exacting revenge," Sage said wisely. At least she hoped that it sounded wise.

"You may be right Sage but I know how to do things only one way. I owe Psylocke and if nothing else I am going to make sure that she gets to see her home one last time," Logan said angrily.

"So you still plan on killing Vargas right sugah," Rogue asked.

"That's right Rogue. He has made a list that only a very few ever have. He is right up there now with Sabretooth," Logan replied.

"Fine just meet us at this address. Please come and talk to Storm before you do anything else," Rogue asked.

"I will think about it," Logan said as he took the offered piece of paper with an address on it. He looked at it and noticed that the address was in a better part of town.

"We will see you there Logan. Right now though we need to round up the rest of the team," Rogue said as she picked up Sage and they flew off. Logan watched them and saw Rogue wave to him quickly so as not to drop Sage.

Logan decided that he would indeed go see Storm. He wanted to see if she even felt any remorse about not being able to help her friend. That and Wolverine had nothing better to do. Well actually he did but he had to leave a message for Vargas. After that it would just be a matter of waiting.

*****

Logan spent the rest of the day going from bar to bar and finding anyone that knew anything about Vargas. He found only a very few people and all of these he found out about them. One man was a murderer, and another was a thief. Others as well were criminals and so each of them that deserved to die did. The murderer was the first. Logan left a message written on a piece of paper at each death. 

Deep down he was scared that for the moment he was a lot like Sabretooth killing without any remorse but the thing was Logan didn't want to kill. He was doing to make the city a better place. Everyone that he had killed were criminals of top order excluding the first few. He had killed a drug dealer as well. He was doing the city a favor and yet with each death he still felt a bit sad. Not much because he was a soldier but nevertheless the feeling of remorse for each death was there. It was just a very tiny spark in a dark night.

Logan knew that the news stations would play the deaths and read the notes and he also knew then that those he let live would carry his message back to Vargas. Two such people were twins. They hadn't fought him though he knew that they knew how to fight. They just took his message and left. He knew that Vargas was going to get his message and he wandered what his reaction would be.

*****

Rogue and the rest of the team was rounded up at the house and they were all waiting for Logan to show up. It was still early in the afternoon and Rogue had a feeling that Logan would wait until nearly dark to show up. He was just that way and she didn't fault him for that. She almost felt the same way that he did. That and she knew more about him than anyone else. She understood him better and she knew that getting Psylocke's body back was a point of honor to him in a way.

"Well where is he Rogue," Bishop asked brusquely. He didn't like waiting like this. He would rather be doing something. That and he had never truly gotten along all that well with Wolverine. What did he care if Wolverine decided to turn on them. Bishop figured that he would deal with it when it happened.

Storm wasn't looking forward to the meeting at all. From what she had been told Wolverine blamed her for Psylocke's death and that was something that she wasn't sure that she could deal with. She knew that they were all her responsibility since they had went along with her. The thing was though that each had to do things their way.

Rogue looked around at them, her friends and family, and noticed that Storm was the most apprehensive of them all. She knew why and she didn't blame her. Rogue would defend Storm though because Storm had done nothing wrong as she saw it. Wolverine was just grief stricken and when that passed he would see the folly of his accusations.

Rogue hoped that Logan would come back to himself before he did something that he would regret. Rogue picked up the remote control and turned the T.V. on and the first thing that they saw was a newsflash. 

"Yes I am here at yet another site of a murder. People though are starting to say that these killings aren't the work of some mad killer. No they are saying that these men are the bottom of the barrel. These men deserved to die it is being said by the general public. Also there was another note just like the others," the reporter said.

As they watched the reporter read a note that was addressed to a man named Vargas. "Vargas this and all succeeding notes are warnings. Come out of your hole and face me so that my friend can rest in peace. Vargas you and I have a date with each other and nothing will keep you safe. Go ahead and find me if you can," the note said. They all knew who that was from and they all knew that Wolverine was getting dangerously close to becoming a criminal. Rogue out of them all understood him. She knew why Logan did it and she also knew that nothing would stop Logan from killing Vargas. Deep down she knew that to be the truth.

"Oh Logan what are you doing," Storm said sadly. She knew though, and she knew that they needed someone else to talk him out of it. Logan wouldn't listen to any of them because some of them like Bishop had never made an attempt to get close to him. The only ones that had ever truly been close to Wolverine were Kitty and Jubilee. 

*****

The plane landed at the airport and a young girl wearing a yellow jacket disembarked from the plane. She had a bag in one hand and with her other she pushed her sunglasses a bit higher up on her nose. "Well Wolvie the cavalry is here," she said as she started towards the exit. 

She had no idea where she was going to go and while she waited near the exit she watched the T.V. which was located in the next room over for those who were waiting for friends and family. On the T.V. was a newscast that was telling about all these killings that had happened today. As she watched she heard the note being read and she felt a chill go up her spine at what the note said.

Her hand involuntarily went to her mouth as if to cover it. "Oh Wolvie please don't let that be you. You were the one that convinced me that killing was a bad thing," Jubilee whispered to herself. 

At that time she heard a voice in her head. It was the professor and he said, "_Jubilee you need to get to this address. At that address you will find Storm and the rest of the X-Men that are with her. They will need your help in convincing Logan that his course of action is wrong."_

"All right professor. I will get there as fast as I can. I just hope that it isn't too late to help Wolvie," Jubilee said in her head in response to the professor.

She didn't get a response from him but then she hadn't really expected one. She hailed a taxi and jumped in. She needed to hurry. She didn't want her Wolvie to get into too much trouble because of his grief.

*****

Logan had spent the better part of an hour trying to rationalize the killings. He knew that he shouldn't have done it but it was the only way that he knew he could reach Vargas. Death was something that the man understood and for some reason seemed to almost respect. 

After the last killing Logan had looked down at his blood covered hands and just shook his head. "I'm turning into Sabretooth all in order to get to one man. That is what Sabretooth would have done but it was also all I could think of," Logan said sadly as he nearly shivered at the thought of becoming Sabretooth.

"I can't kill anyone else but Vargas now. It shouldn't take too long to get a answer from him," Logan said as he retracted his claws. He didn't wash his hands after each killing like he should have. No he felt that he should carry their blood on him for at least a little while. Even though they were men that had deserved every slash and cut that he had inflicted upon them.

It was dark now and he decided that he needed to get to the mansion or whatever the place was and talk to Storm and the rest of them. He finally washed off and stopped off long enough to get a change of cloths from his stashed duffle bag. He changed into his old brown uniform as he headed towards the address he had been given.

*****

Jubilee knocked on the door and Rogue answered it. She smiled after the initial shock of seeing Jubilee wore off. "Sugah what ahre ya doing here," Rogue said as she stepped back to let Jubilee in.

"I was sent by the professor to come and talk to Wolverine about what he has been doing," Jubilee said getting right to the point.

"Oh he has been a little different ever since he had found out that Psylocke's body had been taken and that she had been killed," Rogue said as she led Jubilee into the room with the rest of the team.

Storm rose and embraced Jubilee like she would a beloved sister that she hadn't seen in a while. "It is too bad that sad tidings bring you to us. I wish it could have been some other time child," Storm said as she released Jubilee.

"Me too but Wolvie needs our help and I am not about to give up on him. He never would give up on any of us," Jubilee said knowing it to be true.

"That's right sugah. We owe it to him to at least try to stop his course of action," Rogue said. Then she added, "Have a seat and stay awhile. We are waiting for Logan right now."

"Thanks Rogue I appreciate it," Jubilee said as she blew a bubble and popped it. She was always chewing gum especially when she was nervous.

They all knew that sooner or later Logan would show up. He always kept his word and he had given it that he would be there. They just hoped that they could stop him and if not then they hoped he would let them help him in some other way.

*****

Logan looked at the door to the place and shook his head. They were all going to hate him now but that was to be expected. He had done things that no X-Man should do and he was willing to take the reactions from them. He would though carry through with what he had started and he would kill Vargas. Psylocke would find peace and he would see to it.

Logan reached up and knocked on the door lightly and waited for the answer to come. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. He would be himself when they answered the door. They couldn't take that away from him and even he couldn't lose himself completely to the monster that lived inside him.


	5. Surprises

Shocking Events

Logan stood outside the house and waited for his old friends to answer the door. He watched as the door slowly opened. He knew that they wouldn't be in a good mood due to what he had done to those men but Wolverine felt that he was the only one that had ever really cared about Psylocke. 

The door opened all the way and standing in the doorway was a very familiar face. One wearing her ruby lenses in order to control Cyclops's power. Her long auburn locks falling about her shoulders and her distinctive white streak glistening in the light from the house. 

She smiled at him and said happily, "Come in sugah. We have all been awaitin' for ya." Rogue was indeed happy. She had started to wonder if Logan had decided not to show up. It would have been bad since everyone, including a very distraught young girl by the name of Jubilee, had been looking forward to seeing him and trying to dissuade him from his course of action.

None of them but Rogue knew though that the only one who had a chance was Jubilee. She was the only one out of all of them who had ever been really close to Wolverine and Rogue hoped that the closeness that they shared would be enough. If it wasn't then Vargas was dead and so was anyone who tried to protect him. Rogue knew that for a fact. She knew too much about Wolverine ever since she had absorbed his powers. His thoughts and his fake memories had been in her head and she had always wondered how he had been able to deal with it. It had nearly driven her insane. She knew though, that out of all of them he was the strongest in spirit as well as body.

"Well Rouge I said that I would be here and I didn't want to break my promise to you," Logan said as he stepped into the house. He stepped past Rogue who shut the door behind him like some hostess. Logan couldn't help but notice again how amazing beautiful Rogue was. _You are and were a fool cajun. You will never find a better woman than the one standing in front of me. She is one of the best women that I have ever met_, Logan thought to himself as she walked by him. Once again Logan noticed the sway of her hips but he also knew that she had eyes for only one man. She had feelings for a certain cajun that was a utter fool.

"Back to the old school Logan," Rogue said still as friendly as ever as she led him from the doorway into the house. She couldn't help but notice that he was wearing his old brown uniform which meant that he was ready for Vargas. She knew that he was wearing in order to honor Psylocke in some way. She wasn't sure she understood but that was what the uniform stood for.

"Yeah, that and blood won't show so much on this one," Logan said grimly. He just couldn't get Vargas out of his head. He knew that when he met Vargas one of them was going to die. There was no way around it. It wouldn't be like with Sabretooth. Oh no he wouldn't let Vargas run.

Wolverine rounded a corner and saw the rest of the team sitting or standing in what he guessed to be the living room. He saw that Bishop as standing with his arms crossed by the fireplace. He had a scowl on his face but Wolvie dismissed him out of hand. He had never liked the man and he doubted that he ever would.

He saw that Neal was sitting in the chair by the fireplace with nothing special about him. Wovie saw though that the man was in pain. It was a pain that Logan recognized all too well. The pain etched on his face was the same feeling that Logan had felt time and again when he had fallen in love with a woman only to have her cruelly taken away from him. Logan truly felt sorry for the young man but he didn't know what he could do to ease his pain except bring him Vargas's head.

Beast Woverine knew was still in the hospital recovering from his wounds. There was another friend that he had almost lost to this Vargas. Beast Logan knew though wouldn't approve of Wolverine's tactics in getting Vargas's attention. 

Wolverine saw that Sage was there as well leaning against the wall with her glasses on. She was wearing the same expression that she had always wore but her body was tense because she was nervous. Wolverine was too much of a warrior not to notice that. She smiled at him warmly though and he nodded his head in turn.

Rogue walked over and sat down on the couch next to a woman that Cloud knew well. The leader of this team, the leader that had let Psylocke die. The leader who had failed to protect her team. The woman with dark skin and white hair. The woman who had been called a goddess, and who controlled mother nature itself. The woman who now stood up from where she had been sitting when she saw Logan walk into the room and just stand there.

"Logan it is good to see you again my old friend," she said as she came forward and embraced him. A gesture which he just couldn't bring himself to return. 

Storm hugged Wolverine and had hoped that he would hug her back but she hadn't really expected him to. There was too much pain etched on his face. The pain that she had seen only rarely. The true emotions of the Wolverine that only a few ever got to see. She knew that the pain was slowly eating him up and that until he killed Vargas he wouldn't feel that he had honored Psylocke. He felt that he needed to bring her home one last time like he had before at the completion of a mission. Storm knew all that and still it hurt her when he didn't hug her back. It was like hugging a tree, a thing of nature and unfeeling.

"How are all of you doing," Logan asked as Storm stepped back away from him. How it hurt to see the look on her face! Logan could see the pain that he had caused her written plainly on her face and yet as much as it hurt him to see that he knew that deep down she would forgive him. That was what hurt more than anything.

"We are fine Wolverine," Bishop said as he came forward slowly step by step. "I see though that you are walking a path that will lead you to destruction. Is that what you want. Do you really want to become a criminal?"

"No Bishop I don't want to become a animal. That was all I could think to do though," Logan said.

"Logan please don't continue with this personal quest of yours. I know that you were Psylocke's friend. We all were. She wouldn't have wanted us to fight amongst each other though Logan you know that. She wouldn't have wanted vengeance for her death, you know that as well. Please Logan just listen to us," Storm said since she had no other idea of where to start.

"Storm I understand what you and Rogue have been telling me. At least to a certain extent. The thing is though none of you can even begin to realize what it is like to lose so many friends over the years when you know that you should have been dead long before them," Logan said as he slowly sat down in the chair that he had been standing by.

"Logan we have all lost friends," Rogue said as she sat down on the arm of the chair next to Logan.

"Rogue I know that. I just don't know. This one is different because we don't have a body to bury. Psylocke I feel should at least be allowed to go home one last time," Logan said angrily.

"I understand that Logan but you know that the course you have chosen isn't the right one. Deep down I think you do know that," Storm said evenly.

"This coming from the woman who should have been by Psylockes side," Logan angrily replied. 

Storm knew that it was coming but it still hurt her a lot to hear those words spoken by one of her oldest friends. Coming from Wolverine that hurt even more since at one time she had wanted to be more that his friend. He had hurt her deeply and she wasn't even sure that through all his grief he had even known that he had hurt her.

Logan saw that his words hurt Storm and he immediately felt bad about saying them. He knew that it wasn't her fault. He knew that it had been Psylocke's honor that had demanded she fight for a friend. Logan knew all too well the burden of honor. "I am sorry Storm. I didn't mean what I had just said. I . . . I am not thinking quite like I should I realize that. I know that it isn't your fault. The only person that I have to blame is myself. I have to blame myself for not being there. It is my job to protect all of you and yet I have failed yet again." Logan hung his head and a single tear gathered at the corner of his eye which no one even saw.

Logan sniffed the air out of habit at that time and he smelled her just before she came bursting into the room. Logan would have known that scent anywhere and he hadn't wanted to see her. It was bad enough having this small group of his friends see him the way that he was. He didn't need Jubilee to see him in the state that he was now in.

"Wolvie," she nearly yelled at him from across the room as she rounded the corner of the hallway where she had been hiding. "How can you blame anyone especially yourself. That isn't right nor fair to any of them." At this she gestured to Storm and the rest of the team.

"It is easy to blame others Jubes. The worst part though is that it is truly my fault and I must atone for my mistake," Wolverine said as he lifted his head to look at the kid. The girl that had grown into a very beautiful young woman. Logan finally had to admit that to himself. He hadn't wanted to see her grow but she had and he had to deal with it. That and with the feelings that he had when he saw her. One day he would have to face those feelings but that was not for today but for another time and another place.

"You can't blame yourself no matter how much you want to. You weren't even there! You couldn't do anything about it! Come on Wolvie just give up this quest of yours and let Psylocke lay," Jubilee said hoping that her outburst might at least make her Wolvie think.

"Oh Jubilee why are you here. You should be back in the States being a kid. You shouldn't have to be here to see me this way. This isn't my best kid it isn't even close," Wolverine said quietly.

"I am here Wolvie to keep you from making a big mistake. The professor sent me here to stop you from going through with your quest to kill this Vargas guy. Why can't you just listen to all of us Wolvie. We only want what is best for you," Jubilee said as tears glistened in her eyes.

"Oh Jubes," Wolverine said as he stood up and went to her. He put his arms around her and pulled her close. "You shouldn't have to worry about me kid. I am the best there is at what I do remember."

"I don't want you to die," Jubilee mumbled into his chest.

"Jubilee look at me," he said as he lifted her chin with the tip of his index finger. "Pslocke was my friend as are all of you. This Vargas won't stop until we are all dead. I know that much. I must stop him then before any more of you die. I couldn't live with myself if you died on me kid. I just couldn't live with myself if any of you died. It is my job then to make sure that you don't die. At least not before your time. All of you have too much to live for," Wolverine said as he looked around the room then.

"What about you sugah. Don't you have anything to live for," Rogue asked fearing the answer that she would get.

"Truly Rogue I have little left to live for. Every time I fall in love with someone she gets killed. I know that love isn't for me now. The rest of you though can still learn to love and you should. It is the way of life. I though am a Wolverine. And that means that I defend my family. I defend you all to the death if that is the case," Wolverine finished as his voice dropped to a near growl.

"Wolvie please don't hunt this Vargas down. Please for me," Jubilee pleaded and Logan nearly gave in right there to the look in her eye. He would do nearly anything for Jubilee and the professor had known that when he had sent her. He wouldn't forget his quest though. Psylocke would see her home one last time and Vargas would die. No more of Logan's would die due to his inaction. He had to become the Wolverien fully and kill this man Vargas. There was no other way to do things.

"I'm sorry Jubilee but I have to do this. I have to avenge Psylocke if for no other reason than she needs to find her peace. I truly think that she isn't happy until her body is taken home," Logan said as he smiled at Jubilee.

"Logan I think that you should reconsider this course of action. It is taking you down a path that I believe you never wanted to go. I believe that you are becoming more and more like the men that you so hate. I think that you know that as well and yet you are willing to forego everything that you are in order to complete your objective," Sage said from her place on the couch. She had been silent until that time.

"Sage you are right in a way. I have done things tonight that I am not proud of and yet they needed to be done. I may be a little like Sabretooth. Who knows I may be more like him than I would like to admit but if that is so then it is best I find this Vargas. Then maybe if I am so much Sabretooth he can kill me before I fully become a rabid beast," Wolverine said. He shot down her argument quite well he thought as he waited for another of them to speak up. He knew that one of them would but the one that spoke up next surprised him.

Neal stood up slowly and Logan could tell he was angry. "You would dare kill another in Betsy's name. You are no better than Vargas if that is so Wolverine. I loved her and I know that she wouldn't want you to go on any killing spree just to avenge her. I know that and so do you. You wouldn't be so willing to kill for her if you had loved her at all," Neal accused Logan.

Storm and Rogue could see right away that what Neal had just said was the wrong thing to say to Wolverine. Especially at the time that they were said. Logan slowly pulled away from Jubilee and turned to look Neal fully in the face. His body was tense and if he had been an animal he would have been ready to spring. Logan growled then and out of them all Storm, Jubilee, and Rogue were the only ones that knew what was coming.

"You speak to me like that bub. I have got news for you. I loved Betsy easily as much as you or anyone else for that matter. In fact I had a psychic rapport with her much like Cyclops and Jean. So you dare to tell me the way that she would feel. I don't think so bub," Wolverine growled as there was a distintive _skint _that rung throughout the room. Everyone was surprised at that especially Neal.

"Listen up rookie. I don't think of you as an X-man yet so you better watch yourself. If you get any of these people hurt then I promise you that I will hunt you down and nothing will protect you. Not even the professor himself if you run to him. Betsy may not want me to kill Vargas I won't argue that point with any of you anymore. The thing is though Vargas needs to die before he kills any of you. I care for all of you too much to let that happen. That is all of you but Neal here who if he wants can have the fight of his life on his hands," Logan said as he turned and watched everyone.

Neal was too stunned to say or do anything. He hadn't thought that Logan's pain was the equal of his own and yet he knew at that point that it was. He knew that it may have even been greater than his own. He felt sorry for what he had said but he knew that he couldn't take it back and he knew too that he had just made an enemy of sorts with Logan at that time.

"Logan what has gotten into you," Storm asked surprised at his reaction to Neal. She knew that he considered his friends family but what he had said and threatened to do to Neal had all been unnecessary. 

Logan retracted his claws and looked around the room at the people who at one time had been his friends. He knew then that he had quite possibly ended his friendship with all of them. He knew that he wasn't acting like himself but that was fine. He had a job to do and when it was done he would go back to being his old self. If that wasn't enough for everyone then he would just go back into the wilds and let his wild self take over for good. No one would care then and neither would Logan. If he had no family there was no point in controlling his urges.

"Just watch yourself Neal. I am not in the mood for your self righteous bullshit. Everyone here wants vengeance it's just that none of you have the guts to go and get it. Just admit it to yourselves if not to me," Logan said as he had finally lost his patience.

"I can't believe that you would say that to us Logan," Rogue said utterly surprised though she knew that indeed wanted vengeance.

"I don't mean it the way it sounds. It is just that I am not good with words. I am not one that can tell you what he means. All I know Rogue is that all I am good for anymore is killing. It is all I have ever really been good at. In all my years it has been war that I have lived for. Everytime that I found something else to live for it was taken from me. It seems that the ol canucklehead is no good to anyone except as a bringer of vengeance," Logan said as he walked from the room and found himself a chair to sit in.

"I never thought that Wolvie thought of himself as no good except to kill," Jubilee said as a fresh set of tears fell down her cheeks.

"Neither did I child," Storm said as she held Jubilee around the shoulders. She looked across at them all then. "I think that perhaps we have all misjudged Logan. All this time many of us thought of Logan as heartless and willing to kill without thinking. It seems that we were wrong. Logan has wanted something else in his life but he felt that the killing is all that he was good for."

"I think that you are right sugah," Rogue said and she knew that they were.

"I think that we should go tell Logan that we are sorry. All of us including you Neal," sage said as she slowly stood up.

"I am not going to apologize to that damn animal. He is going to sully Psylocke's name with his quest for vengeance. I will have no part in it," Neal said as he stormed out of the room in the opposite direction that Logan had went.

"Well that was productive," Jubilee commented and that brought a smile from Rogue and Storm.

*****

Logan was angry at himself for telling them the things that he had. He hadn't wanted to tell them the way that he felt but they had badgered him into it. Now they probably hated him even more and he wouldn't blame them if they did. Damn! How could he have let himself get lost to the anger that he had spent a better part of his life trying to control.

He was pacing back and forth when he smelled a pair of familiar scents just seconds before the doorbell rang. "About time Vargas. I was starting to wonder if you didn't want another trophy," Logan said as he headed for the door.

*****

"Who could that be sugah," Rogue asked as she walked towards the door. She had no idea who it could be and it made her a little nervous. They had all been a little jumpy since Psylocke's death and this didn't make things any better.

Just before she reached the door she saw Logan come around the corner of the room he had went into. That made her even more nervous seeing him come out of the room that he had been pacing in for more than thirty minutes. They had all decided that is was best that they leave him alone to deal with his grief and the things that he had said in his own way. They had all thought that it would be best if they did.

"That's for me Rogue don't worry," Logan said as he placed himself right behind her as she reached for the door handle. She noticed that he had crossed his arms and he was wearing a grim smile. The type of smile that could send a shiver up even the most hardened hero's back.

Rogue opened the door and saw two familiar faces. The faces of the two people who had been with Vargas when he had killed her friend. She felt her blood start to boil and could feel the anger starting to build. She knew the others were feeling the same way and she fought hard for control just like they were.

She knew that it was a good thing that Neal didn't see them because he would have killed them on the spot. She knew that deep down no matter what he said he craved Vargas's death more than even Logan did. That scared her a little. Not because she didn't think that she could stop him but because he was starting to lose himself to the dark emotions. The X-Men had too many experiences with those types of emotions and she didn't want to repeat them.

She saw Logan out of the corner of her eye and noticed that he was still smiling. He had expected them! He must have told them where to find him. Then it all made sense to her. He had done those things knowing that Vargas would be looking for another trophy. Logan had hoped that it would be himself that Vargas would go after and so had left a address with these two. That was smart she thought. Logan was indeed a smart person no matter what he had said.

The man stepped forward and bowed to Logan. "Vargas says to meet him at this address. He also said that if you wanted you could bring all of your little friends. He is looking forward to meeting you Wolverine. He thinks that you will make an excellent addition to his trophy room," the man said with a slight smile.

"You go tell Vargas that you can't kill a man that isn't a man. Tell him I am more than any man could ever hope to be and tell him that when we meet in battle I will claim my prize. Tell him to make sure that he has Psylocke's body with him. I don't want to have to look for it after I kill him," Logan said grimly and the man's smile disappeared. 

Rogue shut the door in the face of the man and whirled on Logan. "You are still going to fight him Logan! After all that we talked about and everything that we said to each other! You are that willing to throw your life away!" Rogue slapped him across the face then and left the room.

"I'm sorry everyone but it is just something that I must do," Logan said as he opened the door. "You can all come but first I must get my things. I need to get ready," Logan said as he shut the door behind him.

"Logan I think that you need to kill this Vargas in order to get rid of some of your demons," Storm said to the door. She didn't know it but Logan heard that and slowly walked away. He knew that he had hurt Rogue and he didn't know how he could make it up to her. All he knew was that later in the night either he or Vargas wouldn't live to kill again.


	6. An Enemy seen

A Battle for a Friend

Logan walked through the streets of the city and out into the country where he had left his things. He had brought along a couple of very special items and he would wear them now. He would wear them in honor of his fallen friend. 

He found his backpack with its bundle tied to it and pulled it out into the moonlight. Logan dug into the backpack and pulled out an old suit. One that he hadn't worn in a long time. One that he had never thought to wear again. He unfolded it and looked down at the brown and tan suit that had housed a Wolverine. It was time that it housed the same old Wolverine again. The one who cared more for his friends than he ever had about himself. Logan took off the brown suit that he was wearing and felt he had a different suit, one more appropriate to the task at hand.

Logan put the suit on and slowly pulled the mask down over his face. The same motion that he had done so many times before. Logan looked down at the uniform he now wore and saw the gashes in it. It had been a uniform that he had worn on a mission with Betsy and he would wear it now for his last mission for Betsy. As Logan looked at the rents in it he couldn't help but think the times he had done that with this suit had usually been with a woman named Betsy Braddock by his side as they prepared for a mission. That would never happen again thanks to this Vargas!

Logan reached down and pulled the bundle off the backpack and slowly unrolled it. When he was done the moonlight glinted off a samurai's blade. A blade that had been one of Betsy's not a ninja blade like many would have thought. It had been one of her many that she had left behind at the mansion. 

Logan unsheathed the blade and looked at the surface and saw his own reflection. "I shall use this blade of yours Betsy to rid the world of this Vargas. Then and only then can I feel that I have done my part as your friend," Logan said as he slid the blade back into it's sheath and slung it across his back. 

As Logan walked back towards the city and back to his friends who he knew would be waiting for him he slowly started to focus on the task at hand. He became his namesake. He became the Wolverine; pound for pound the most dangerous animal in the animal kingdom. 

*****

Jubilee was the first to see Logan walking up the street back towards the house. She had known that he would come back. She had just known it! Deep down she had known that her Wolvie wouldn't leave them behind to go face this Vargas and his cronies on his own.

She watched him move up to the house with a purpose in his movements that she had only seen when he was on a mission of the utmost importance. She heard the door open behind her then Storm say, "So you were right child. He did come back didn't he. Well I shall round up the others."

"Thanks Storm and was there any doubt that Wolvie wouldn't come back and get us. Deep down he cares whether or not he will ever admit it," Jubilee said and then she heard the soft click of the door as it shut. Jubilee hoped she was right and that deep down Wolvie still cared if he lived or died because she knew that she and the rest of the X-Men cared. They all cared very much even if Wolverine didn't.

"Well Wolvie it seems that we are going with you huh. You came back for us after all," Jubilee said as Logan drew even with her and waited.

"Darlin' I just want you all to be there so that you can all see what a friend does to the person who killed your friend," Logan said his voice cold and his eyes hard.

Jubilee shivered in spite of herself at the tone of Logan's voice. She wondered if they had lost Logan now. She wondered if he had become that which he hadn't ever wanted to be in the first place. She wondered if Logan hadn't become just like his nemesis Sabretooth.

The door opened again and the X-Men filtered out. Storm was first out the door followed by Bishop, Sage, Neal, and lastly by Rogue who shut and locked the door behind her. They all stood on the doorstep waiting for Wolverine to lead the way it seemed and none of them wanted to talk.

Wolverine didn't blame them though. There didn't seem to be much to say not with his mind made up. All they could really do was go along and support him if they wanted or just be there to see the fall of the honorable man.

"Well Logan I guess we should be going then shouldn't we," Storm said as she motioned that he should indeed lead the way. 

"Very well 'Ro I will take you all to the place where a man dies this night," Logan said as he turned on his heel and walked down the street silent as a shadow. The others followed and each was accompanied by their own thoughts of the Wolverine that they used to know and this grief stricken man that was now in front of them. They didn't' seem to be anything alike and it made them wonder just what had happened to their old friend Wolverine.

*****

Logan led his friends to the address that he had been given. The address had led to a small abandoned castle on the outskirts of the city. Logan shook his head slowly as he gazed at the dilapidated walls and the shrubs that were growing into the wall itself causing it to crumble at the slightest touch. The turrents were falling down as well and there was even an old drawbridge that was lowered so that they could enter the castle crossing the moat that had stale smelling water.

"Well isn't this just a cozy place," Jubilee wandered aloud as she gazed around at the place.

"Well sugah it seems that he picked a right fine place didn't he. Ah just hope that he shows," Rogue said because she didn't want to see what Logan would do if the man known as Vargas decided not to show up. She feared for everyone who had ever committed a crime if Vargas didn't show up.

"It would seem that we may have beat him here. So shall we cross this rickety bridge and enter," Storm said and at those words Logan headed across the bridge. 

As he started across he heard a creak and felt the bridge give slightly under his weight. He looked down then into the water that had a smell that was making him nearly gag and he saw the water swish as if a giant fish or other some creature had just been there and swam off. He didn't want anyone falling in and so he called back, "Ro, Rogue will you two carry the others across. I don't want anyone falling in since it seems there might be something in the water."

As those words left his mouth a rather large alligator came out of the water and crashed into the bridge sending wood shards everywhere. The bridge hadn't been that sturdy in the first place and it crumbled under the impact, sending Wolverine crashing into the chest deep water. 

"Wolvie are you all right," Jubilee called and Logan looked around quickly to make sure that no one else had been knocked into the water. 

"I'm fine darlin'," Wolverine called back when he was satisfied that no one else had been knocked into the moat. 

"It seems that you might have been right Wolverine," Bishop called from where the rest of the team was. Logan located them on the inside bank. Rogue must have flown them across and Logan was grateful. He wasn't going to lose any more teammates.

He swam over to the bank and as he was starting to pull himself up onto the bank he felt something close on his leg and start to pull him back into the water. He turned over tearing the flesh of his leg worse as the gator's grip on his leg didn't lesson. "I don't have time for this," Logan growled and punched his claws through the head of the alligator. As it died it's grip lessoned and Wolverine pulled himself up onto the bank.

"Well shall we get moving," Logan said not even slowing down to let his leg heal before he went into the courtyard.

The others followed him into the courtyard where they saw all sorts of statues. There were statues of soldiers from a time long forgotten and of women in flowing dresses whose beauty could still hold a man entranced. 

Logan gazed around and noticed that he was standing on stone slabs that were cut perfectly to fit together. He wondered what that meant or if it was just what the original owner of the castle had wanted. He sniffed the air then and caught three scents. Two of the scents were familiar, they were the ones who had brought him the address where he now stood. The other was a scent that he didn't recognize.

"Come out and show yourself you coward," Logan growled and his upper lip curled back from his teeth in a snarl.

"What are you talking about Wolvie," Jubilee said but her question was answered as she watched three people emerge from the darkness as if they had been a part of it. She hadn't noticed them and she was pretty sure none of the others had either. 

*****

Vargas strode our of the darkness with the twins at his side. He had strapped to his back a sword much like a king would have used. A sword that looked familiar to the rest of the X-Men except Logan and Jubilee. They hadn't been there the day that the weapon had taken the life of their dear friend Psylocke. 

The twins had weapons of their own strapped to their backs as well but they walked two paces behind Vargas as if they were subjects of his and he their king. Vargas did indeed feel that he was superior to everyone. After all he was to be the scourage of the mutant menace. They were his prey and they would all die in time. 

As Vargas came into the light his face was outlined in a golden glow and it was the same face that Rogue recognized from when she had fought him and he had nearly killed her until Psylocke took her place on the chopping block. Rogue would never forget that no matter how long she lived. That was something that was burned into her mind and nothing would ever take it away from her.

Logan saw the look that came to Rogues face at the sight of Vargas. He knew the look well, after all he had worn that same look countless times. The look that said it was his fault that someone was dead and now he would have to live with that knowledge. It was a look that Rogue didn't need to be wearing at her young age. It was a look that Wolverine knew he had to erase from Rogue or it would eat her up inside until the day that she died.

Logan stepped up next to Rogue and put his hand on her shoulder. It was a move that Rogue had grown to shy away from since her power had hurt so many. It had never frightened Logan though. Not like it had her. Now he felt that she needed the comfort more than ever. Even though most of her life now she had went without human touch. She truly did need it now. 

Tears sprung to Rogue's eyes the longer she looked at Vargas. She should have been able to take him. He wasn't like many that they had fought. Hell she had even fought the Phoenix and survived to tell the tale! Why couldn't she beat this one man. Her failure had cost her friend her life. Rogue's hands came up and covered her face as sobs racked her body. That was when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't you dare think that Betsy's death is your fault Rogue. Don't you dare. You did what you could and from what I hear this man is a great warrior. You have nothing to be ashamed of Rogue," Wolverine said his voice hard and cold though he was trying hard to make it sound warmer for Rogue's sake.

Rogue heard the raspy voice of Logan and turned her face to look at him. "Of course it's mah fault Logan. I should've been able to eat him. I failed everyone," Rogue said while her tears continued to fall.

Logan reached up with his gloved hand and brushed a tear away as it slid down her cheek. "No Rogue it's my fault. I should have been there. It is my job to make sure you are all fine. As the oldest age wise member of the group it was my duty to make sure you all survived and I failed in that. I am the one to blame here not you or anyone else. Now I am here to correct my mistake Rogue. I am here to avenge our friend so that everyone may find their peace in their own ways," Logan said as he walked out into the middle of the area that had been chosen as the fighting ground. At least that is what Logan guessed. He was finally sure that it wasn't anyone's fault but his own and he was prepared for whatever fate had in store for him now. It that was his death then he would have to deal with that though he didn't want any of the others to see him die.

*****

Storm saw what Logan did for Rogue and she felt grateful. None of them had been able to do anything about Rogue's grief though she hid it very well. Logan it seemed though had taken it away from her. Her face looked so peaceful now that it was almost as if Rogue was a young girl again.

Storm knew that somehow Logan had taken the blame for Psylocke's death onto himself. She knew that he had always done that trying to keep the others innocent or at least keep them intact with their emotions. Storm knew that Logan felt he was the only one that could bear the weight of responsibility of his friends dying and it being his fault.

Jubilee watched her Wolvie walk out and stand on what she was guessing was to be a battlefield. She had seen Wolvie do this many times in the danger room when he had thought that no one was watching but she had been watching. She had seen that he was a very honorable man and would keep his word and his honor at all costs.

Jubilee though had heard about this Vargas and how he had manhandled Rogue which hadn't ever been done in front of Jubilee. If someone could beat Rogue with ease what hope did her Wovie have. She hoped that he could win but deep down she knew that he couldn't. Not from what she had heard about this Vargas. Jubilee felt she was going to watch the last fight that her Wolvie would ever fight. 

*****

Logan looked at the Vargas as he strode out to stand across from him. He looked the man up and down and knew at once that Vargas was indeed a warrior born. He had long blue hair that he let flow behind his back. His eyes were a dark brown color and held no compassion in them. Logan knew that this man was indeed a man that would be worthy of dying by the sword. His features seemed to be slightly asian though Logan wasn't sure.

"Where is her body Vargas," Wolverine said his tone frosty as the winds that Storm could command.

"Ah Logan I did indeed bring her for you," Vargas said conversationally. He motioned for his two companions and they pushed something out into the light from it's position among the other statues. Logan knew that it wasn't a stone statue as those two wouldn't have had the strength to push it. What he saw though when it came into the light made even his heart pause.

He saw Betsy his long time friend and fellow along the path of honor in combat. She was in warrior's pose but there was no life in her dead eyes. They stared straight ahead unseeing at Logan. It was a sight that nearly brought Logan to his knee. Betsy also known as Psylocke was displayed to Logan as a trophy stuffed like she was some sort of great beast. Logan's eyes went dead at that point and he felt his heart freeze. His breathing came slower and his head dropped to his chest. "What did you do Vargas," Logan said and his voice sounded as if it came from beyond the grave. 

"I have merely preserved what I deem as a trophy mutant. You see she fought with courage and honor which did her credit. I wished in a way to honor her and this was the best that I could come up with. That and to prove to the rest of you that your time is coming," Vargas almost cheerfully.

"Besides you mutants have met the end of your reign. I am a true Homo sapiens superior and as such it is my duty to vanquish the abomination that nature put forth on this planet. I am here to be the scourge of mutants," Vargas said as he drew his sword and held it in front of his face. 

*****

The others saw what Logan saw as Psylocke was brought before them and presented like it was their right to do so. Psylocke had been a person and not deserving of what had been done to her body Jubilee thought. Tears sprang unbidden to her eyes as she gazed at a woman that she hadn't known well but had known was a good person. "Oh god what did they do to you Psylocke," Jubilee whispered into her hands as the tears made trials down her cheeks. She honestly didn't know what she should feel.

Storm looked at her old friend and her tears came as well. She didn't feel bad about crying though because she had loved her friend like a sister just like she loved Rogue and the others. They were her family and it saddened her to see one of her family stuffed like a fish. Psylocke deserved better and despite herself she hoped that Wolverine did indeed kill Vargas for what he had done to Betsy.

Bishop didn't cry though he felt a great sadness settle over him. Another of the legendary X-Men had fallen and he had to witness it yet again. No matter what he did he could never save any of them and his future was slowly coming to pass. With each death it came closer and closer and he wasn't sure if he would be able to deal with too many more deaths. In fact he thought that perhaps he should be the one fighting. After all he could beat this Vargas at least that is what he kept telling himself as he looked at the body of Betsy.

Rogue felt the tears slid down her cheeks once again as she looked at the woman who had died in her place. Rogue loved her like a older sister and now that older sister had died before her time. Rogue didn't know what to think. Her grief was so strong and yet she knew that Logan had accepted the blame for her death with an open heart and good intentions. Rogue knew that Logan had done his best in order to lift the burden from Rogue and he had. Rogue though was still grief stricken now that she had seen what had become of her friends body. 

Rogue let the tears fall and she adjusted her glasses with her right hand. "Be careful Logan ya hear," Rogue whispered. "I don't want to lose yah as well. I have lost too many friends and family."

Storm heard what Rogue said as she gazed at her through her own tears. She wondered what Rogue must be feeling to say such a thing. She had heard Jubilee as well and Storm herself had wanted to say something as well though she had remained silent. She knew it was her duty not to show too much emotion at such a time as the leader of the team.

Sage even felt tears come to her eyes. She didn't know why for sure she had never been that close to Psylocke and in fact hadn't got to know her all that well until recently when they had been on the same team. Sage knew though that no one should have to die the way that Psylocke did. Everyone had the right to die old and with their children and grandchildren at their side. Betsy had been denied that and that was something that Sage didn't like in the least. No she didn't think that anyone should die unless they deserved it and she was starting to wonder if Vargas didn't deserve it.

That was when they all saw Vargas pull his sword from his back and hold it in front of his face. They watched as Logan pulled the sword that had at one time belonged to Psylocke from its sheath on his back and he held it at his side.

*****

Wolverine pulled the sword from it's scabbard on his back and held it as his side. He was nearly dead inside now and a coldness was starting to spread throughout his body. He felt it emanating from his heart and spreading outward to encompass his whole body. He didn't know what that meant but he knew that he had a man to kill and kill him he would. 

Logan lifted his eyes slowly and everyone there let out a gasp of surprise and shock. Logan's eyes were glowing slightly a pearly white color. The color of purity and yet the color innocence. White though was also the color of Chaos and destruction and Logan gazed at Vargas.

Vargas didn't show any outward signs of nervousness but he was nervous. He knew about each of the X-Men and their powers and there was nothing that had said anything about Wolverine and his eyes glowing white. It was almost as if his anger and hatred and grief were all being shown in those glowing orbs of his.

"Well Vargas let's go. This night your blood will stain the ground and this blade which will then be buried with the warrior Betsy Braddock. I will have my vengeance on you Vargas," Wolverine said as he slowly stalked forward. He had very few thoughts at that moment but the one that kept pounding inside his head was that he needed to kill Vargas.


End file.
